This invention relates to apparatus and method for compacting food particles into a unified edible product. More particularly, the invention involves the formation of shaped edible products by binding pieces of food together with pressure and heat.
Illustrative of an edible product composed of pieces of food bonded together is the pasta-based product of U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,752 to Taylor et al. The patent discloses the formation of discrete pieces of cooked pasta with a binding composition into a desired shape. The pasta-based product is proposed as the base or shell of a pizza and as such may be garnished with tomato sauce, cheese, mushrooms, etc. U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,900 to Molinari also describes a shaped pasta product formed of cooked pasta. Zukerman discloses in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,711,295; 3,961,087 and 5,137,745 shaped food products composed of rice and other cereal grains.
The prior art, however, fails to teach a simple apparatus and method for forming shaped products composed of food particles.
Accordingly, a principal object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and method suitable for commercial production of shaped products composed of food particles.
Another object is to provide an apparatus that compresses and bakes food particles into a unified, shaped product.
A further object is to provide apparatus that minimizes manual labor.
These and other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description which follows.